The Council
by Ezra.J.Clarke
Summary: Beca and her pack take on the council
1. Chapter 1 - The Council's Seal

Beca Anne Mitchell, looking over her many years of life - yet not so many years considering immortality - would consider herself incredibly lucky. For the most part, she'd gained much of what she wanted as a young cub. She hadn't aged in looks since she was eighteen, which was incredibly lucky for wolves born wolves, as they have no control of what age they stopped looking older - immortality seemed to decide that for itself. She was a Grammy award-winning artist and producer, who made enough money to have her own trust-fund for her pack and for each of their children. Yet, anonymous enough as a producer that no one noticed she wasn't aging (it was tricky with award shows and such, especially right before she retired. By the end, she was practically a ghost producer under the DJ Titanium name).

She had three betas, Jesse, Stacie, and Emily, who, since day one, would follow her to the ends of the earth. She had a mate whom she loved more than she could ever possibly verbalize. She met her Betas mates - humans...Luke, Aubrey, and Benji, along the way and got more than lucky about how they handled finding out about the wolf community. Then, years later, Eric, who may have had a hard time adjusting to his sisters new form, was willing - even excited - to join them. And later, they'd met his mate, Lily, who was a wolf by birth herself and was the last member to join Beca's pack. Her pack didn't expand much throughout her life which was exactly what she wanted - it reached its peak when Eric met his mate. Her pack totaled at ten including herself and her wife. She met her mate young enough that they had almost - with the exception of two rough years - their entire lives together.

She had two children, her Eldest, Rose, and her youngest, Jaymie - Rose was named after Chloe's mom and Jaymie after Beca's uncle. Each of them grew and presented as Alphas, starting their own packs. Some of Beca's pack members had children of their own, some decided not to. Aubrey and Stacie had two boys - Elliot and Danny - as well as a little girl, Bella. Elliot, to everyone's surprised, presented as an Alpha along with Rose and Jaymie. Benji and Emily had a little girl, Ellie. Eric and his wife, Lily, the last addition to Beca and Chloe's pack, had a little boy, Riley. Luke and Jesse were both happy being the crazy uncles. Needless to say, for years, their Los Angeles house was filled with kids, Wolf midwives, and new cubs running up and down the stairs, growing up. Beca considered herself lucky to have gotten to see her Betas grow up and have lives of their own, have careers, and have children of their own.

Now, all of those children grew up and grew into their own lives - their own packs. Jaymie and Rose presented as Alphas and the other children picked between them which pack they wanted to join. Upon taking their bands, Elliot and Rose found out they were mates and formed their pack together. With each child that turned eighteen, they moved out and onto their own lives - leaving the house with only members of Pack Mitchell left. Beca couldn't have been happier with her life, her pack's lives, and the lives of their children. She was lucky and she knew that.

Which is why she couldn't be upset now, staring down the next part of her life as she sat at the Kitchen table. It was a letter with the official seal of the council. She couldn't say she didn't know it was coming - though somewhere deep down she hoped it wasn't. Her father had passed away in a fight with anarchist wolves months ago now, leaving a seat open on the council. A seat she, being the sole heir of the Mitchell Legacy, was expected to fill. It had been just enough time to allow Beca to grieve after the funeral. Just enough time to consider respectable. And now it was time for the next part of her life. After years of avoiding Maine, avoiding the politics of the Wolf Society and only standing in when necessary - it was time to step up. She wouldn't sell the house, after all it was where she raised her kids, but the pack would have to move to Maine. To the estate her mother had bought for her when she turned eighteen, but was never used.

Beca put her thumb beneath the seal and pulled on the card-stock letter, opening it. She pulled out the paper and read it to herself, confirming the thoughts she had about it's contents:

To Sire Beca Anne Mitchell,

_It is our Honor and Privilege to present you with your seat on the Wolf Council as the sole Heir of House Mitchell and House Bolton. Hereby, and hence forth, you will be expected to relocate to the Maine Residence to take on this responsibility with regular meetings and delegations._

The Council.

Short, sweet, and to the point. She stared at the words and read them over and over. She couldn't help the nerves, grinding beneath her skin. While her pack and their children steered clear of Maine, Wolf Society hadn't gotten any better. The last time she'd heard a ruling from the council of Elders was the legalization of Beta brutality. She, Chloe, Anne, and her father had tried to oppose the law but lost the battle. Anarchist wolves were everywhere, outright denying the council and every social structure it stood for. She heard on the news of wolf attacks more often than not. She may not have been able to stand the council, but she wasn't voting for anarchy either. There had to be something better. And now it was her job to fight for whatever that may be, perhaps bringing some type of betterment from her father's passing. The wolf society was on a brink of war and Beca hadn't much of a choice but to take it upon herself to stop it.

"Is that it?" Beca hardly realized Chloe had walked into the room her thoughts were so erratic. On any normal day, she would've sensed it.

"This is it." Beca confirmed, handing the letter over to her mate, "I've been summoned,"

Chloe looked it over, "We should call a pack meeting tonight if we want to start packing." Her blue eyes find Beca's oceans and Beca only sighed back. Chloe put the paper back on the table and rubbed Beca's shoulders, "We're gonna get through this, baby. We're gonna fix the system, I promise."

Beca looked up at Chloe from her chair, leaning the back of her head on the back of the chair, "And until then we have to abide by wolf law. The betas are going to hate me."

"Our Betas could never hate you," Chloe confirmed, "They know you're going to fight for them. Have you forgotten that you did all of this for them? For Emily so she wouldn't have a bite? You're selfless, Beca." Chloe hummed and when Beca didn't respond, Chloe cocked an eyebrow at her, "Come on, go get changed. We have to start getting ready. It's about time we went back."

Beca got up from the table and took one last look at the letter, _If you asked me, about time would be never._


	2. Chapter 2 - A Pack Mentality

"So we're going back to Maine." Stacie crossed her legs on the living room couch and folded her arms - her voice sounded like something was caught in her throat and Beca couldn't handle it. Anxiety exuded off each of the Betas - The controversy in Maine had caused death, Beca's father's death included, who had been protecting a Beta when he died. They had every to be afraid and Beca couldn't protect them from the fear, despite how much she wanted to. Beca would on any day at any time put her life on the line for her pack, but without her, they'd be even more vulnerable.

"Not without a unanimous agreement," Chloe piped up before Beca had the opportunity to - as Beca was still sulking over the fact that it was _kind of _her fault they were in this mess. She made the decision to agree to the council all of those years ago instead of giving Emily a bite and now she feared that decision would put her pack in more danger.

When Beca looked up, her betas were all staring at her. They heard Chloe, but they were waiting for Beca to say something - _anything _in response to the situation. Beca cleared her throat, "This is a decision for you each to make individually." She finally said, "If one of you says no, we'll stay here - we'll fight it. But If I'm being honest with you all, not so many Betas get to live the way we live here. And if we stay, that'll never change."

The words hung in the air with more gravity than even Beca wanted to grant them - weighing on the shoulders of each and every one of them. There were rules and regulations that they all knew they'd have to play by to enact change - to get anyone to listen to them. There were other Alphas that the would bring new threats to them every day. Maine had only gotten worse in the years they evaded it and that's why the Alphas were asking, not demanding. Beca and Chloe were asking for the Betas trust that they would take care of them - protect them. That if anything happened, they'd be by their side, but also that they couldn't guarantee nothing would happen.

"I'm with you," Everyone looked at Stacie when she spoke, her yellow eyes staring Beca down. She nodded her head to Beca and a wave of relief washed over the Alpha - if anyone had ever had Beca's back, it was Stacie and vise versa.

"_Back. Off." Beca growled and the fur on her back stood straight up. The sixteen years old Alpha stood over Stacie, who's fur was matted in thick splatters of blood. The Beta couldn't stand and Beca had only caught the tail end of the fight - three Alphas had attacked Stacie and beat her until she couldn't stand. Beca stood over Stacie and in the center of the three circling wolves. She growled again at them and their circle widened, backing away from the Alpha and Beta pair. Stacie couldn't move, couldn't breathe, all she could do was watch and hope Beca could handle her own. _

"_You think you can on all of us, Mitchell?" One spat at her and Beca bore her teeth back at him, crouching into a predatory position. _

"_Try me." The young Alpha's nose scrunched with her next growl and her eyes watched each and every one of the attackers. _

"_Beca? Stacie?" It was Anne's voice that scared off the Alphas, knowing full well she was a member of the council and would have their heads for attacking their daughter. The three attackers ran off, tail between their legs, and Beca shook her head. She looked back toward the nearby Mitchell Manner and then down at Stacie._

"_Are you alright?" Beca turned back to her human form and crouched down next to Stacie. The Alpha could see how much effort it took for Stacie to turn back to her human form. Once she was though, the sight made Beca angrier than she was before. Stacie had scratches that would require stitches all over her body, "Fuck, Stace." _

_Beca helped Stacie stand up, slow and steady, "I'll be okay." Stacie tried to protest, but Beca's eyes were glued to her wounds, "You shouldn't have done that Beca. They're gonna come after you now. They could've killed you." _

"_If I wasn't there, they would've killed you." Beca wrapped Stacie's arm around her neck and helped her walk, shrugging off the conversation as she did, "We need to look out for each other." _

_From that day on, Stacie was absolutely positive that the day she chose her pack, she'd choose Beca's. _

"Thank you," Beca practically whispered it, but her eyes told Stacie everything she wouldn't say out loud. It meant more coming from Stacie, who knew the brutalizations Maine was capable of. It meant more knowing she trusted Beca with her life.

"I'm in too," Beca turned her attention to where the voice was coming from and found Chloe's brother Eric spoke up. When their eyes met, Eric nodded and a small smile broke through Beca's lips.

_It was the Christmas season, one year after Eric found out Chloe and Beca were wolves and consequently what that actually meant - what Beca's real childhood was like - and so on. Eric, Beca, and Chloe in Chloe's childhood bedroom while the rest of the family had gone out for some last-minute gifts. Beca was sitting on her hind legs, staring at Eric in her wolf form, "Come on, Eric. She won't bite." Chloe coaxed him and Eric took another step forward - putting out his hand for Beca. Beca sniffed his hand and put her head beneath it, allowing him to run his hand through her hair, "See?" Chloe said. _

"_I don't know, you guys. I still haven't really decided," Eric said, though a smile crept onto his face as he pet Beca's head. They'd been asking Eric for a decision for a while now, after explaining to him a lot of what it meant and how some of it he wouldn't understand until he did it, "And I don't know if Los Angeles is exactly the place for me." _

"_You are the only person in the world who gets the chance to be immortal and doesn't take it." Chloe, a bit more irritated than she wanted to be, left the room and went downstairs for a glass of water - or just to be away from the situation. _

_Beca walked over to the comforter and slipped underneath of it to turn back, covering herself with it as she did, "She always gets so mad. It's a hard decision you know?" Eric explained in a frustrated sigh. _

"_She misses you." Beca relented and Eric looked back at her, questioning what she meant, "We can't tell you entire family what we are and I've hated every day that I've made her keep it a secret. I couldn't imagine doing it myself." Beca explained, "It was a complete accident when you found out - but now? She just wants you to know how it feels, Eric. She wants you to understand her and join her world. Besides, what have you got to lose? If anything, I'd say you have a whole world to gain." Beca watched the door in case Chloe walked back in, "I know it's a big decision and some of us didn't have the opportunity to take the time to make it. Really, I respect how much you've thought about it. I just want you to understand that she misses you and hates keeping this a secret." _

_Eric watched the door and thought about his sister. About the million and one times she'd kept secrets for him, helped him when he needed it, and trusted that he knew what he was doing. He thought about the wolves, he thought about Beca and Chloe's entire other world that they had to keep a secret. He thought about how he'd never seen Chloe happier than when she was with Beca. He thought about how well Beca knew his sister, in some ways better than he did. He thought about the fact that Chloe trusted Beca and made his decision based on that. _

"I'm in too," Emily shrugged, her eyes watching her Alphas, "I got us into this, I should get us out right?" Beca and Chloe exchanged looks, thinking back on the day that Beca decided to accept her fate with the council in exchange for protecting Emily.

"That wasn't your fault-" Beca started, but before she could finish the sentence, more of her wolves chimed in. One after another, they agreed to move to Maine, and Beca wondered if she was in their shoes she'd be able to do the same for them.

"Me too," Lily, Eric's wife, was the last of the pack to agree - her green eyes staring at Beca through the weaves of brown bangs getting in the way of her eyesight.

"_You don't have to give me the speech, Beca," Lily told her that the day Beca had asked to take a walk with Lily alone, to discuss whether she'd want to join the pack, "I know what I'm getting into. I haven't chosen a pack specifically because I knew what I'd be doing if I did." The girl explained, stuffing her hands in her pockets and admiring the blooming flowers and trees that came with spring, "Eric's my mate. I want this." _

_Beca nodded along to what Lily had to say and waited for her to finish before speaking up, "I know Eric's your mate and I'm not going to give you the speech," She told the Beta, "But I need you to know that you're doing this for you, not for him." Lily looked over at the Alpha as she spoke, "Chloe and I would be extremely happy to welcome you into our family. This walk is me giving you the opportunity to ask me any questions you have about our pack before you join. I want you to know our rules, how we operate, and what joining our pack will mean for you besides joining your mate's pack." _

_Lily nodded and took a deep breath, most definitely thinking over what she might want to say or ask of the Alpha, "I won't be able to leave?" Beca wasn't surprised that was the first question Lily had. The brunette had been a lone wolf her entire life after running away from Maine for good reasons._

"_Not outside of the state without permission from Chloe or I," Beca said, "Though, we don't have so many reasons that we'd tell you, you couldn't." _

"_Do you have punishments?" _

_Beca sighed - this girl had most definitely grown up with Alphas who disrespected her, "Nothing the council permits. Neither of us has ever given anything physical." She tried to ease the worry Lily had written across her face._

"_Than that's that." Beca looked at the girl and cocked an eyebrow at her, "I trust the two of you, Eric trusts you. That enough for me." _

"Alright, then It's time to start packing."


	3. Chapter 3 - Legislation

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The crisp fall wind was in transition to winter in Maine - post turning the clocks back, but before the first snowfall. The mornings were chilled with frost on cars and windows, yet the afternoons were warm enough to shed one's sweatshirt. The temperature was something Pack Mitchell was entirely unused to after spending so long in Los Angeles. The mountainous area was the high altitude and for each trip, there was an adjustment period to such. It was a coast away from where they considered home and thus an entirely separate world - almost literally in terms of the wolf world.

In less than a few weeks, Pack Mitchell had transported all of their items from one house to the next, from one coastline to the other. Chloe - if anyone was looking on the bright side - adored the opportunity to redecorate with a clean canvas. She, almost solely, decorated with the help of movers, while the rest of the pack finished getting things in order back in Los Angeles. By the time the rest of them arrived, the eight-bedroom Mitchell estate was furnished obviously by a Beale, with beautiful modern art and all. The master bedroom of the west wing of the house was reserved for Beca and Chloe, and Beca decided to give the east wing master to Stacie and Aubrey. Everywhere in between was up to each of the individual couples. Beca's only request was that the group wait before venturing off into Maine just yet, until after Beca's naming ceremony. Until after they knew what they were dealing with. The eight-bedroom mansion with five acres of land all to itself deep in the wolf society forest wasn't exactly house arrest, but not going for runs every morning made all the wolves anxious.

Beca and Chloe's first trip off the grounds after moving in was Beca's mother's apartment to discuss exactly what had changed - most especially since Professor Mitchell's death. After pleasantries, Anne sat the two for them down in her office and set out two documents in front of them, "This," she pointed to the one on the right, "Is the most recent amendments passed, going into effect tomorrow. This," She pointed to the one on the left, "Is the one on trial currently with the council to be voted on."

Beca and Chloe each picked up a document. The one in Beca's hand was the bill put into effect tomorrow and her throat went dry reading it to herself. At some point she started reading it out loud, spitting the insulting words from the back of her throat, "Beta's will henceforth be required to wear a 'signifying' cuffs on either or both wrists to determine their pack and the Alphas they 'serve'" She coughed on the word serve, "Betas will not be away from their Alpha's premise without permission? Betas who commit crimes against Alpha's who are not their Alpha's will be liable to public punishment from the Alpha who the crime was committed against? What the fuck is this?"

"It gets worse," Chloe mumbled, her eyes drifting over the document in her hands, "This one takes away every freedom and allows Alphas to punish in bites and physical assault. These documents are the start of Slavery."

"How could you let this happen?" Beca asked, though it wasn't so accusatory when it came out of her mouth. It sounded heartbroken, lost, entirely baffled by the overwhelming pages. Just a few things they'd read were absolutely ridiculous. It stripped all of her Betas rights.

"I don't have any weigh anymore, Beca," Anne relented, "This all started when Elder Jacobson passed and his grandson took a spot. The kid's been getting legislative passed like this without so much as a problem. Anarchist wolves are more common and running amuck. I can vote against it all I want but I'm the only one voting against it. We can't beat it just through the council." Anne's voice was breaking, her face near tears as she stared at her daughter. Beca slouched her shoulders, she couldn't even imagine taking this home to her betas.

Beca reached out a hand and squeezed her mothers, "It's alright. I'm here now. We can do this, together." Truth was, she didn't have a plan or any way of fixing the mess they were being thrown into and the night didn't end on a happy note. It ended with Anne sending Beca home with a stack of legislation in the wolf community - the council Bible. The car ride home wasn't any better between the two alphas - just silence and contemplation, trying to understand what they could do - what would they do?

Beca walked in the door and the house was quiet, "I don't know what to do, Chlo," She whispered, walking into the kitchen and turning on the light. The kitchen was a huge portion of the downstairs - filled with counter space, modern updated appliances, and an island, "This is fucking insane. What the hell are we going to tell them?" She ran two hands through her hair and motioned at the ceiling above them, in reference to their Betas.

"Baby, you have to calm down or they'll all come down here." Chloe put a hand on Beca's shoulder. Becs knew she was right. Her emotions were rapid - anger, hurt, upset - if she didn't calm down, she'd broadcast them to the entire pack. Chloe's touch was soothing.

"I know, I know." Beca sighed, took a breath, and continued with a different tone of voice, "I want you and the rest of the pack to go home,"

"What? No, we're not leaving you here," Chloe immediately protested and Beca gripped at both of her hands.

"I know, I know you want to stay, but it's not safe. What's safest for our pack is to take them home - far away from here. I can handle myself. Just until things calm down." Beca looked Chloe in the eye and Chloe couldn't believe she was serious. They didn't split the pack, that's not how it worked, "Chlo, I just can't tell them," she pointed to the stack of papers, "Cuffs on their wrists? House arrest? Where the hell did we bring them? I mean-" Beca froze when she felt the room shift. Just outside of the kitchen, in the darkness of the living room, her betas were assembling, unable to ignore the conversation at hand. She looked at the darkness and her shoulders slouched. A moment of silence drifted over them, "I know you're there, you can come out now." At first there was no movement at all, but when Beca didn't stop staring, they each emerged, one by one, into the light of the kitchen. She'd apparently gotten all of her Betas attention, "How much of that did you hear?"

Eyes shifted between the group before Aubrey finally answered, "All of it... pretty much." She flicked her ear, "Couldn't help it."

"It's okay," Chloe said before Beca could open her mouth, "You all should be involved in the conversation. It should be your decision," Beca turned back to Chloe with a frown on her face - a frown that said she didn't want this to be their decision, that Beca had made the decision for them.

Stacie, with the wandering eye, picked up the document going into effect the next day, "This is..." her voice fell, unable to find the words, "I can't believe it,"

"I don't want any of you here," Beca's voice came out commanding - it was her Alpha taking over with red eyes to match, "You're my Betas. No one else has the right to-"

"Beca, we want to stay," Emily piped and the Alpha immediately felt her authority get stripped. She wanted to give the Betas their freedom, which meant the freedom to choose whether they wanted to stay. But her gut and her instincts told it wasn't a good idea and she wanted to demand they leave, "We all agreed to be here, none of these laws are going to scare us away. We know they aren't the two of you."

Jesse spoke up after her, a hand on her shoulder to show his support, "Besides that the last time you two were apart you were miserable. That's not happening," Beca and Chloe looked at each other, eyes pondering the last time they were apart - across the country too.

Though, the Alpha quickly shook out of it and looked back to their pack, "This isn't about us, it's about your safety and your freedom. I will not have my betas wear cuffs-"

"We knew what we were signing up for," Benji added, "We want to be here for you, Alpha. We're your family. And if the two of you want to follow your own morals, you'll give us the freedom to choose what we want."

Beca looked across their faces then squeezed her eyes shut to think for just a moment. She sighed, "Fine, but you guys have to listen to me. This isn't a joke, okay? I won't have any of you getting hurt. You can't do this outside of here."

"We promise, Alpha," Aubrey said it and nods went through the pack to agree with her.

The conversation ended there, though Beca and Chloe urged the betas to read through the legislation themselves so they too knew what they were up against. Everyone went to bed that night with a new weight on their shoulders about Beca's naming ceremony the next night, which came sooner than they wished it would've. Before they knew it, they were deep in the forest of wolf society, where string lights and torches lit their path. The air smelled of black smoke and wrought iron, replacing the light scents of the forest with industrialism. The council met where Chloe remembered they did all those years ago, though their members had been replaced with younger ones. They sat at their stone seats before a half-moon table made of the same. All but one seat was filled and beyond the torch-lit path were the yellow and red eyes of wolves watching beneath the full moon. Anne sat on one side of the council and Emily recognized the Jacobson boy who attacked her at the last lunar ceremony they attended as a pack. Beca's pack and Chloe exited the path once they made it down to the end, joining the eyes beyond the light.

Beca stood in a long, black robe, decorated in Celtic designs. Before the council half moon and in front of Beca was a bonfire just small enough that it wouldn't harm the trees above - but big enough to cause the huge chimney of smoke blowing in the skyline. The fire mirrored in the Alpha legacy's red eyes as she looked to the council before her. She swallowed at her inability to see them clearly.

"Beca Anne Mitchell. Do you seek to join the council of wolves?" A voice she hadn't heard before boomed through the trees. "To accept your birthright as sole heir of House Mitchell and Legacy of House Bolton?"

"I do," Beca stated it boldly back to the shadowy figure.

"Do you solemnly swear to uphold the traditions and laws of the wolf society?"

Beca swallowed and looked over the darkness that she knew her pack hid behind. The question in and of itself contradicted everything the Alpha stood for. She hated every law wolf society had - it was the reason she left when she turned eighteen. She couldn't stand the fact that her Betas were standing, waiting for her to answer, scratching at the leather cuffs they were required to wear by wolf law. She couldn't stand that there were laws that undermined her authority as the Alpha of her pack. She hated that anyone believed an Alpha was there to control their betas rather than protect them. She hated that their society was conflicting with their pack. Someone cleared her throat and Beca realized she was taking too long to answer, "I do." She hated herself for answering the question at all and hoped with all of her willpower that she could take it down from the inside. That she could help Betas who didn't have liberties she gave her betas. That this wasn't for nothing.

"Do you swear to uphold and work for the betterment of the community by taking the brand?" This time Beca could hear her mother's voice and it was coming closer to her. Finally, Anne came into view with the branding iron in her hand. The iron singed when she dipped it into the fire, against the heat of the coals.

"I do."

"Kneel," Anne announced it as she pulled the iron out of the fire. Her eyes watched Beca, as many eyes did, as she took off the robe, revealing her long black pants and only a sports bra to cover her top. The topless portion of the ceremony was a faded tradition for the Alpha to reveal their brand, their mating mark, and their other bare shoulder to be branded. Beca swallowed when the iron neared her on both knees. She was thankful it was her mother on the other side of it - it was a relief because her mother knew what she was doing. She was the one who gave Beca her brand in the first place.

The brand itself hit her skin and no longer did she have goosebumps in the cool night air. The iron burned her shoulder and she refused to wince. The full moon filled with yin and yang coy fish were all that was left, a permanent mark to symbolize her chair on the council.

"Rise, Beca Anne Mitchell, Legacy of House Bolton and House Mitchell. Welcome to the council."


	4. Chapter 4 - The Elder Cave

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The council of wolves didn't come out of nowhere or for no reason at all. It began with the first wolves when all the world was chaos. At the time, the wolves were in anarchy, killing humans for sport and starting wars with them. More of both sides were dying for no reason at all. That was when the six houses of the largest packs came together and made a decision that changed the lives of wolves forever. The six houses, Jacobsen, Mitchell, Thorne, Banner, Grayson, Bell. These houses became the council and ruled wolves to be left to a folktale in the eyes of humans. They created the rules of Alphas and Betas to protect their society and keep wolves alive. With their rules, the wolf population grew substantially. And when they passed on, their bloodline took their place. The council was passed by the lineage of legacies. To ensure their worthiness, each wolf who joined the council had to pass through the Elder's cave. To wolves who'd never been through it, it was a mystery only known to the council.

That being said, Beca wasn't afraid of the Elder Cave. In her lifetime, she'd never experienced a wolf not come back out of it. Of course, she'd heard the stories. The folk tales of council members who went insane or never came back out at all. That was the reason they received the brand before entering - the ceremony was done to honor them because if they didn't come back, they'd die a hero. This meant, after the ceremony to accept her place on the council, after she'd received the brand of the council, the ceremony of wolves led her to the Elder Cave. Torches were held in the hands of ware-wolves, of _her_ wolves. Her pack which included all of the wolves she neglected to talk about the cave of elders with prior to the ceremony. Stacie, Emily, and Jesse knew about it, of course, but it wasn't up for a discussion. She could see and feel through the bond that her pack was worried about her - but this came with the agreement of joining the council. They had already agreed to let her go.

When they approached, her pack lined the entrance before her. A Celtic chant started and she took a breath. No, she wasn't afraid of the folk tales, but what her mother told her about the cave did, in fact, shake her bones. She'd never forget the words her mother used - _The cave shows you yourself and you have to choose whether you can live with that truth._ Beca had never had a good relationship with fate and she couldn't quite get that out of her head.

The further she walked into the cave the smaller the torches became until they eventually were out of sight. Though, the cave didn't seem to get darker. Purple gems surrounded the moist, rock walls, glowing in the darkness the walls attempted to shroud her in. The gems seemed to lead the way deeper into the cavern, a straight and tight path. She started on human foot until she couldn't quite fit standing up and transformed into her wolf. She wondered for a split second if that's what the cave wanted from her - as if the cave itself was alive - but she quickly brushed the thought away. She had a long night ahead of her if she were going to come back out in the morning, she couldn't start second-guessing everything so early on. At first, all she heard was the faint chanting and faint water dripping from the walls and into the puddles on the cave floor. Then the sound of the dripping water turned into an echo of a voice deeper in the cave. Beca tuned her ears to it rather quickly, being hyper-aware of the situation she was in.

"Wolves mate for life." The voice was recognizable - in a way familiar and unfamiliar simultaneously. She picked up the pace to get closer and as that phrase repeated itself, more phrases piled themselves on top, "I've never been good at this sort of thing," one said and another, "It takes time, you have to control yourself," and, "Don't walk away from this!" Eventually, the words melded and broke into vibrations that even Beca's wolf ears couldn't decipher and before she knew it she was running at a full sprint, splashing in puddles and scraping her nails against the mud. Her paws were covered by the time she finally came to a halt, huffing and puffing her chest out. The voice was still calling in so many phrases she couldn't make out. It echoed against the walls and bounced through her ears. She couldn't figure it out and she was beginning to see how a cave could make someone go mad.

Finally, a few softer steps later she found a quiet space - a space with a waterfall of mist surrounded by gemstones. Next to the mist, on each wall, were old tattered banners of House Jacobsen. It was their family crest and purple banner, which matched the purple gemstones. Threw the mist, Beca knew the cave continued on. But on the mist, there was a scene in front of her - one she knew well. It was of herself, in the woods of Barden University campus, holding Chloe's hand. She could see both her and Chloe standing there, as if the memory had been filmed. It wasn't through Beca's eyes, it was from outside of her body. She knew it was a memory - a specific enough memory that she could remember it by the clothes they were wearing and the location, "Wolves mate for life."

In the memory, Beca had stopped walking to look at Chloe. Chloe turned to her and her eyes were watching Beca intently. Beca took Chloe's hands in her own, "We have supernatural abilities and one of those, includes knowing when something is right." Beca cleared her throat as the realization hit Chloe, "There's uh. My tattoo." Beca clenched her eyes at jumbling her words in the memory. In the memory, Beca pulled up her sleeve, ensuring that one hand was still holding Chloe's. Chloe looked at the brand intently, "It's really a brand for my pack. And when I'm near my mate… it gets really warm. It almost… burns."

Chloe's eyes were burning through her skull and the redhead bit her lip. With her free hand, she ran her hand over the ridges of Beca's brand, "Is it.. warm now?" Chloe asked, her eyes looking at the brand as her fingers traced it. Beca took a sharp breath in when Chloe touched it. Beca could only nod.

The memory faded away in the mist as Beca stared longer. She wondered what the cave was trying to tell her - or if it was doing what her mom said, reflecting herself back at her. She couldn't quite piece together what was being explained to her, but she assumed that's what she was there to figure out. It was, after all, one of her and Chloe's most important memories. As she thought, an echo stretched through the walls of the cave and she knew it wanted her to keep moving, so she did. She walked and listened and as the echoes turned into words and when words turned into vibrations, she ran. She ran until she approached the next memory, this time portrayed on a long wall where the cave opened to a small room. New gemstones appeared with the memory, orange this time, highlighting the family crest of house banner.

"Aubrey, stop!" This memory was back at the Barden apartment building. She had chased Aubrey down the stairs after Stacie had attempted telling Aubrey the truth of them, about wolves. Once again, the memory was still distinct in Beca's mind.

Aubrey turned around on the stairs, a few steps below Beca. Beca could see the tears in her eyes, "What? What could you possibly have to say, Beca? More nonsense?"

Beca watched herself swallow, as if she hadn't even expected to get so far as to say anything. Her eyes analyzed every inch of Aubrey's face. Her cheeks were flush and her chest was moving up and down fast. Her makeup was running down her face, "I know this all sounds crazy-"

"Sounds? Sounds crazy?" Aubrey's voice was piercing and her eyes were wide. Beca could see the way her tears made glistened off her face, "You're crazy, She's crazy. All of you!"

"Aubrey." Beca said, "Come back inside. Please, just let-"

"No." Aubrey turned back to her path and stepped a few feet down the stairs.

"I will show you." Beca's voice was lower, crisper. It echoed in the stairwell and therefore through the cave, "Give us five minutes. What will it make a difference? Five minutes and you can leave just the same if you don't change your mind. I just need five minutes." Aubrey looked back at Beca and Beca could see her hesitation, "Please, Aubrey. Don't walk away from this. Not now. You can't tell me deep down you don't want to believe her. Just come back."

The memory faded and Beca tried to connect the previous with the one she'd just seen. Both were about revealing the wolf secret - about convincing humans of the truth. But they were also about Mates and of course, they all included Beca. Instead of echoes, the cave shook and rocks knocked against one another. The sound pushed Beca further into the cave. As another gemstone added to the colors, this one rest, Beca realized what the colors were. They were the colors of the ancient houses - the first wolves. The first Alphas to ever walk the earth. The red would be for house Thorne. These were the colors of the family crests. Jacobson was purple, Banner was orange, Thorne was red.

"Emily, look away." The next memory came through on the ceiling of open space, above the red banner of house Thorne. It was the memory of Beca laying over Benji, whose body had been torn to bits by the bear all those years ago. In the memory, Emily gave her a skeptical look, "Emily," Beca growled, "Look. Away." Emily did as she was told and turned away from the boy, but stayed by his side. Beca bit into the boys wrist, hard and the transformation began. As it did, the memory faded from the mist portrait before her and this time, a new one replaced it. The one that followed was the day Jesse brought home Luke passed out over his shoulder with a mating mark on Luke's neck. Beca had demanded he bring Luke inside and the anger on her face had been more fierce than Beca had remembered it.

Each memory had to do with a memory of her pack, she concluded. They had to deal with hard situations. Perhaps how Beca handled them. Beca passed it by to move on, recognizing the next color to be a yellow gemstone that matched House Grayson. When she approached a room, if a cave could have a room, the memory appeared on the wall behind her when she was staring at the Grayson banner - her own made her jump.

"Back. Off." Beca growled and the fur on her back stood straight up. The sixteen-year-old Alpha stood over Stacie, who's fur was matted in thick splatters of blood. The Beta couldn't stand and Beca had only caught the tail end of the fight - three Alphas had attacked Stacie and beat her until she couldn't stand. Beca stood over Stacie and in the center of the three circling wolves. She growled again at them and their circle widened, backing away from the Alpha and Beta pair.

"You think you can on all of us, Mitchell?" One spat at her and Beca bore her teeth back at him, crouching into a predatory position.

"Try me." The young Alpha's nose scrunched with her next growl and her eyes watched each and every one of the attackers.

The memory faded and another appeared - this time of Beca standing in front of Emily at the Lunar Eclipse Ceremony, surrounded by packs of wolves and growling at the Jacobsen boy.

"What I think is that you shouldn't talk to what doesn't belong to you," Beca growled back, a hiss screeching from the back of her throat. As Stacie and Aubrey approached the scene from behind Emily and Benji, their eyes fell on the anger exuding from Beca. Dominance slipped off Beca's skin in waves.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" The strange Alpha was in Beca's face now, his lip quivering upward to bare his teeth, "You're defending her? She got in my face and you're defending that… that… Omega?"

When the memory was gone Beca looked forward into the cave. She felt like she was moving, but as if she hadn't gotten anywhere - _Times I've had to defend my pack? Be an Alpha? Is that what this is about? _She seemed to be asking it to the cavern as well as herself, _I don't regret any of these. Not one. _She thought she might be getting to the end of it when she moved on to find the blue gemstones of house Bell. That meant it was only House Bell and House Mitchell left. Perhaps that would be the end of it.

In between two House Bell banners, a scene played out - a memory that happened just after Beca's eighteenth birthday. She couldn't quite remember where they were - in one of the forests in North or South Carolina. Beca, Stacie, Emily, and Jesse were playing in wolf form - tackling one another and jumping across the forest floor. The memory skipped through the day of them playing around with another and slowly disappeared after showing night - the four wolves huddled around one another to keep warm while they slept. The memory that followed started with a slam of the door at their Los Angeles house. It was of Lily walking away and Beca following her out the door. Eric wasn't far behind Beca, "Lily."

"No," Lily yelled back, "You told me you'd never stop me. That you'd never take away my freedom." Beca couldn't remember what the fight was over or why Lily wanted to leave in the first place.

"Lily, walking away - going anywhere else in the world - it's not going to fix this," Beca remembered saying those words and how they felt against her bones when she said them. She knew from experience that spending time away from Chloe only made everything hurt more, "You're better than running away,"

"I'm not falling for that fate bullshit!" Lily argued turning back halfway through their front yard, "You _promised _you wouldn't do this."

Eric opened his mouth to speak, but Beca put a hand up to stop him. She closed the distance between her and their latest addition to the pack. She took Lily's hands in her own, "If you want to leave," She looked in Lily's eyes, "I won't stop you. I won't deny you permission. I won't make you come back inside. I… we are not those Alphas." Lily's expression softened, "But I am not a perfect person and let me tell you I've made the mistake of walking away from something that I shouldn't have. I don't want you to have regrets and besides that, we'd all miss you too much," Lily dropped her jaw to speak and Beca added, "This is your family Lily, for better and for worse. Eric up there, he loves you. You have to believe that this is worth fighting for. Don't you?"

The memory faded before Lily could answer and Beca swallowed. The memories were so individualistic. They had to do with Beca being Alpha - but she couldn't quite determine what that meant to the cave or how that linked to the council. She didn't know what worthiness that imposed on her or if there was anything worthy in the memories at all. Her mother hadn't been in any of them, neither had her kids or the kids from her pack. It was about her pack and her relationship with them. She looked on to the last gaping hall and took a deep breath. Last one. The gemstone added was of her own family crest, green. At the end of that hall was a vast, open space with a memory echoing against the tall, walls. Beca took the chance to transform back in her human form as she approached the center of the room, watching the vague, projection-looking memory. The cavern rocks were cold against her skin.

"This has to be a mistake," Beca was sixteen against in this memory. Her eyes were glowing red the same way they did now, "I don't want it. Take it back." They were in the backyard of Beca's childhood home, amongst an acre of trees. When Anne didn't answer, Beca said it again, this time louder, "I said I don't want it!"

Anne turned to her and shook her head, "Honey, it's not your choice. Fate doesn't make mistakes." Anne put a hand on her shoulder, "Why would you want to be a beta anyway?" This was a memory of the first day Beca had presented as an Alpha.

Beca shook her head, "I just - I don't to be like you or dad. I don't want to hurt betas. I'm not like the other Alphas - I'm not so cruel."

"You think your father and I are cruel?" Anne pondered and in the memory, Beca could now see the way her face turned red at the question.

"No, I just- I get what you do, but I don't want to punish Betas or control anyone else's life. I take care of myself and I'm not capable of any more than that." sixteen-year-old Beca explained, "I can't do what you do, don't you get it? I'm not cut out for this. Having a pack, being on the council? I don't want it. Any of it."

The memory stopped there and it repeated itself over and over again, the same memory. Beca watched it twice before looking around for somewhere to go. The array of colors filled the space in gemstones, lighting up every inch of the room, but there was no way out. There was no moving forward. That was the end. Beca swallowed, "Is this what you wanted me to see?" She yelled out to the cave and her words echoed, "That I didn't want to be an Alpha? Is that what makes me unworthy?" She asked, "I thought fate didn't make mistakes. What the hell is your point?" The ceiling of the cave rumbled and the sound reminded Beca of thunder. Rocks tumbled from the top to the floor and splashed in the water below. She winced at ones that got to close and wondered if she should run, "So what was all of this for then? Nothing?" The frustration got the best of her and it came out as a growl, a grunt. Finally, it stopped and all of the gemstones seemed to go out at once. It only left a single word painted in the Emeralds of House Mitchell.

It read: Protector.


End file.
